


Flower Power

by tiedyeflag



Category: Smile For Me (Video Game)
Genre: Flower meanings, Gen, Other, Post good ending, gender neutral reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-07-20 14:36:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19993831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tiedyeflag/pseuds/tiedyeflag
Summary: You go to a nearby flower shop with $20 to get a bouquet that translates to 'fuck you'.You didn't expect such an eccentric florist to help you.





	Flower Power

The sun was shining, birds were singing, and you stomped down the sidewalk as if trying to crush the concrete beneath your sneakers. You wore a scowl as you hunched over slightly, fists in the front pocket of your hoodie. A few strangers curiously glared at your frown and demeanor, but you didn’t care. It wasn’t their business. They wouldn’t understand the pain of the storm clouds brewing in your heart.

You were so dead set on your sour mood that you nearly stomped right past your destination; a local flower shop. The pastel sign above the door read ‘Flower Power!’ in cutesy curly letters, framed in ivy crawling around the border. Pots of roses and carnations blossomed by the front door, classics for any bouquet. Not for what you had in store, however. You tried your best not to slam the door open, but the bell above the door still jangled violently at your intrusion. The sweet smell of dozens upon dozens of flowers hit you in the face, and you had to hold back a sneeze. 

“Hello?” You barked at the seemingly empty store. “Anyone here?” There was silence, save for the occasional car passing by outside or the gentle rustling of leaves within the store.

Wait. Plants don’t rustle on their own.

Following your ears, you found yourself walking closer to an enormous display of round, purple flowers. Each one was a sphere composed of tinier flowers. Hydrangeas, you think? The smell tickled your nose.

Your nose scrunched up. “Ah...ACKCHOO!”

“Bless you!” came a voice from within the flowers.

You jump away and bark, “Who the hell was that?!”

The flowers rustled playfully before a person emerged from behind them. A man with long legs and hair just as long, but tied back in a ponytail, a curly brown mess. His skin was an unusual shade of pale green, except for his angular red nose. Almost reminded you of Rudolph the Reindeer. However, what caught you off guard were his eyes. Expressive and wide, long lashes and the whites of his eyes were yellow. He’d probably look scary in the dark...but in the light, he just looked odd.

He smiled almost impossibly wide, showing off what you suspected were more rows of teeth than a human should have. “So sorry to scare you, I’m afraid I didn’t hear you come in!”

“It...It’s fine,” You struggled to keep your face neutral. “You work here?”

“Oh yes!” he replied in a sing-song voice. He tilted his head like a puppy, cupping his hands beneath his jaw. “Welcome to Flower Power! I’m here to make you smile! How may I help you?”

You dug through your pocket and fisted out a crumply twenty dollar bill. “How do I say ‘fuck you’ in a flower bouquet?”

It was the man’s turn to jump back in surprise. “Goodness! Why on earth would you want a bouquet like that? Who on earth would be happy to receive such an arrangement?”

You scowled. “None of your business. Do you want my business or not?”

A frown crossed over the man’s features, and he relented. “Follow me,” he said, turning towards the back of the store.

Shoving your fist back into your pocket, you did so, keeping in mind your personal bubble. However, his hair was so poofy it kept threatening to invade your space. You could easily lean forward an inch or two and submerge yourself in his hair. To your surprise, it smelled not sweet like flowers, but sweet like...bubblegum? Weird.

He stopped in front of a pot with clusters of bright orange flowers growing from it. The petals were pointy, in the shape of stars. The man picked a few and put them in his arms. “Butterfly weed,” He said, “for ‘leave me alone’.”

Then another pot with more orange flowers, but with larger petals. The flower reminded you of the mouth of an alien you’ve seen in a horror movie. “Orange lilies, for ‘hatred’,” He said.

As you followed him around some more, you studied his features more, daring to walk a bit closer. His eyelashes looked soft, especially compared to his chiseled cheekbones. They framed the sad expression reflecting from his eyes. He even fought to keep a frown off his face, the face that just moments ago split into the biggest, potentially scariest grin you’ve ever seen.

“Tansy,” He said, holding up a handful of tiny, round yellow flowers. They reminded you of dandelions.

“What do those mean?”

“‘Declaration of war’,”

“Whoa, seriously? They have flowers for that?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

You almost regret saying that at the sadness in his voice. Despite the cloud hanging over his head, he bent over and gathered a handful of pink flowers in star shapes with curly stigmas. 

“What about those? They’re kinda pretty,”

“Rhododendrons. They mean ‘you’re dead to me’ or ‘I’m out to get you’.”

You smirk. “Just what I’m looking for.”

He gazed curiously at you. You both stared before you realized he was silently asking why such a flower suited your needs. You looked away, eyebrows furrowed.

“One more kind of flower…” He croaked and walked towards a closet door with a lock. “Please wait a moment,” He said before unlocking it, entering and closing the door behind him. You read the sign on the door that said, ‘EMPLOYEES ONLY BEYOND THIS POINT’. You raised an eyebrow; what kind of flowers needed to be off-limits to guests? Not like man-eating plants existed. This wasn’t Little Shop of Horrors.

The man came out, one arm full of the previous flowers, and in the other hand was a handful of purple blooms. They reminded you of lavender, but each bloom was bell-shaped, dangling downwards like tiny bells. 

“What’s the deal with those?” You point at the purple flowers.

“These are monkshood flowers.” He explained. “They’re very poisonous, so we keep them under lock and key for the safety of our customers.” He gazed down at the flowers. “These, unsurprisingly, represent resentment, and can even mean ‘I wish death upon you’.”

“Hold on; you can  _ eat _ flowers?”

“Why, yes. Many species are edible. However, I prefer to grow them instead of eating them.” He chuckled. 

“Huh…”

The man then walked to a desk behind the cash register and began arranging them into a bouquet. You didn’t doubt he took extra care to arrange them in a way that symbolized even more hatred. Despite each flower’s negative connotation, he treated each one with such gentle care, like each one was his baby. He probably grew them all himself, you thought. The sadness in his eyes even lit up while handling the beautiful blooms. A slight smile even graced his features. He looked so...happy and vulnerable. A look you haven’t seen in a while…

“...It’s for my ex.”

“Oh? Pardon?”

“This bouquet. It’s for my ex.” Your shoulders relaxed, releasing tension. “He just texted me out of the blue asking if I could get him some flowers. Flowers for his own wedding.”

His eyes went wide. “My, that’s…” His tongue twisted in his mouth, searching for the right words. “That doesn’t sound like a nice thing to do. Especially to someone you...used to love.”

You snorted, “Well, he didn’t love me back.”

“I’m so sorry, I had no idea…”

You waved your hand dismissively. “It’s fine. At least I can get back at him with these flowers.”

The man hummed, pressing his lips together in thought as he tied a ribbon around the plastic holding the bouquet together. He carefully placed it on the counter next to the cash register. You hand over the $20 and feel his cool fingertips brush against yours. “Keep the change,” You say as you pick up the bouquet. The plastic wrapping crinkles lightly against your chest. The flowers are so colorful and eye-catching that you almost forget their meanings. Almost.

“Here,”

You look up. The man is holding up a single flower; a flower with long white petals, tall skinny stigmas coated in brown fuzzy pollen at the tips. 

“This is a tooth lilly. It symbolizes ‘return to happiness’. It’s also my favorite flower.” He hands it to you. “For you. Free of charge.”

You looked at the lilly, cradled in this stranger’s hand, then back up to his face, a genuine expression of sympathy upon it. A few strands of curly brown hair had grown free of his ponytail and fell in front of his face. Pollen dusted his cheeks along with a faint blush. When he smiled, revealing his pearly whites, you were surprised to see instead of several extra rows of teeth, his smile only had two rows, with a single front tooth missing in the middle. The only word that came close to describing his presence was...vulnerable.

Tears ran down your cheeks and down your chin.

“Oh no!” The man flailed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you frown! I was trying to make you smile!”

“N-No, it’s…” You rubbed your face with the sleeve of your hoodie. Shifting the bouquet into one arm, you wiped the tears from your chin. “This whole day’s been crap. I’ve been even crappier yet you’ve been so...damn nice to me this whole time. I don’t even know your name!”

“Eh? Did I forget to put on my nametag?” He pawed at his apron, finding no small piece of plastic safety-pinned there. “My mistake. Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Boris Habit! Some call me Dr. Habit, but you may call me Boris!”

“Wait, ‘dr’? Are you a...or, were a doctor?”

“Dentist, actually. I was the ‘dent-est’ dentist!”

“How did you go from a dentist to a florist?”

Boris’s happy-go-lucky demeanor shifted. He almost looked sheepish, avoiding eye contact. “Ah, well...that’s a very, very long story.” He stuffed his hands into the pocket of his apron. “It’d take quite a few emails to tell.”

“...what about coffee? Like, over coffee?”

His cheeks flushed and his eyebrows shot up. “What? A ‘coffee’? Really?”

“Yeah, wait, gimme a sec,” You fumble with your pocket and pull out a ballpoint pen. “Give me your hand.”

Curious, Boris held out his hand, palm side up. You scribbled your email against the cool, soft, green skin. As you shoved the pen back into your pocket, you said, “Since you seem to prefer email over, like, texting, here. My email.” You plucked the tooth lilly from his other hand. “Shoot me a message sometime,” Then you turned around, flowers in tow, and walked out of the store. You fought the blush rising to your cheeks; you’re acting like a love-struck puppy compared to your usual self, and it’s embarrassing. Still, you don’t regret it. You’d appreciate it even more if you saw how Boris ran his fingers against your handwriting like it was precious, and the goofy grin across his face.

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't played the game yet, just watched playthroughs, and I already love it. I am going to try to introduce this game to all my friends now. They shall all know my current obsession with the floofy dentist.
> 
> PS: I wanna kiss the dentist. Is that weird


End file.
